86% of California Cannabis Clones Contaminated According to Steep Hill

California, which has not had a regulated market despite more than two decades of legal medical cannabis sales, suffers from widespread pesticide contamination, according to a study published today by Steep Hill, a leading global cannabis science and technology company with extensive expertise in lab testing. Authored by Anthony Torres, Wilson Linker, Donald Land Ph.D and Reggie Gaudino Ph.D, the study showed that only 14% of 124 randomly selected clones the firm tested showed no detectable pesticides. Many of the clones had more than one type of pesticide, with Myclobutanil as the most commonly detected one:

CEO Jmîchaeĺe Keller fears that the California cannabis supply chain is at risk in 2018 if the source material for large scale production is already contaminated and suggests that the company wants to work with the state regulators to assure the safety and success of the cannabis supply.

When the ‘mothers’ of clones are contaminated with pesticides, particularly those that are systemic, so too are the clone offspring. We look forward to working with the California cannabis industry to establish best practices to substantially reduce the need for the use of pesticides as a whole, and to help set the standard for clean clone production in the future.

Donald Land, Chief Scientific Consultant at Steep Hill

Pesticide contamination has been an issue in Canada as well, with the regulator, Health Canada, implementing random testing after several voluntary recalls by licensed producers. As Colorado has become regulated, it too has struggled with pesticide-related recalls over the past two years.

Based in Houston, Alan leverages his experience as founder of online communities 420 Investor, the first and still largest due diligence platform focused on the publicly-traded stocks in the cannabis industry. With his extensive network in the cannabis community, Alan continues to find new ways to connect the industry and facilitate its sustainable growth. At New Cannabis Ventures, he is responsible for content development and strategic alliances. Before shifting his focus to the cannabis industry in early 2013, Alan, who began his career on Wall Street in 1986, worked as an independent research analyst following over two decades in research and portfolio management. A prolific writer, with over 650 articles published since 2007 at Seeking Alpha, where he has 70,000 followers, Alan is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and a frequent source to the media, including the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, and Bloomberg TV. Contact Alan: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email